‘A fresh start is needed’

President Trump fired FBI Director James B. Comey in a letter that cited the recommendation of Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions and Deputy Atty. Gen. Rod Rosenstein. Among their conclusions:

GOING PUBLIC

Comey refuses “to accept the nearly universal judgment that he was mistaken” to go public in July with the reasons he was not recommending criminal charges against Hillary Clinton. In that news conference, Comey said Clinton and her aides were “extremely careless” in handling classified information.

IGNORED PROTOCOL

Comey “ignored another long-standing principle: We do not hold press conferences to release derogatory information about the subject of a declined criminal investigation.” Although it is sometimes disclosed, “we never release it gratuitously.”

CLOSED CASE

Comey “was wrong to usurp the attorney general’s authority” to publicly announce his conclusion in July that the case would be closed.

BIPARTISAN

The conclusion that Comey acted inappropriately in the Clinton case is shared by “attorneys general and deputy attorneys general from different eras and both political parties.”

LOST PUBLIC TRUST

The letter concludes: “The FBI is unlikely to regain public and congressional trust until it has a director who understands the gravity of the mistakes and pledges never to repeat them.”